Lasers, Wildcats, Monks, and Sharks To Advance To GNAC Semifinals

WINTHROP, Mass. - Top-seed Lasell swept No. 8 seed Colby-Sawyer to advance to the semifinals where they will meet No. 4 seed Simmons, who defeated five seed Emmanuel in four sets, in Auburndale, Mass. on Thursday night (Nov. 14) at 6 pm. Meanwhile, Saint Joseph's (Maine) pulled off an upset victory over third seed Regis and will head to Providence, RI on Thursday night at 7pm to take on two-seed Johnson & Wales, who swept no. 7 seed Rivier.

Release Courtesy of the Lasell Athletic Communications Department

Newton, MA.- The Lasers defeated the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer during the GNAC quarterfinals in a 3-0 sweep on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to advance to the semifinals.

The number one seeded Lasers put two points on the board early after the Chargers took the first lead, but a six-point run would put the Chargers ahead 7-3 early in the first. The Lasers fought back to tie the set, gaining the advantage halfway through the first for a 25-18 win on the set.

In the second set, Lasell took a six-point lead leaving the Chargers trailing the rest of the set, winning 25-22.

With one set standing between the Lasers and a playoff advancement, the Chargers would put the first two points on the board in the third, but the Lasers continued to battle. Lasell took the lead off a McKenna McCool kill and continued a six-point run that would give them the advantage for the rest of the set. The Lasers would ultimately take the final set 25-10.

McKenna McCool led the Lasers with 15 kills while Eliana Baranfollowed with 12. Sydney Katz put up her first triple-double, posting 28 assists, 10 aces, and 15 digs. 

Up Next: The Lasers are set to host and faceoff against the #4 seed Simmons in the GNAC Semi-Finals this Thursday, November 14th at 6pm. 

Release Courtesy of the Johnson & Wales Athletic Communications Department

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Graduate student Peyton Oliver tied the JWU (Providence) women's volleyball program record for kills in a 3-0 win over Rivier University Tuesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal action at the Wildcat Center.

Oliver threw down 11 kills to tie Annemarie Proto at 1,504 kills and looks to surpass the longtime record-holder in Thursday night's conference semifinal against St. Joseph's (ME), which surprised third seed Regis 3-1 earlier this evening. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 20-11 on the season, marking the eighth time in the last nine seasons they have reached the 20-win mark.

Freshman Bailey Koopman picked up eight kills and finished with a ridiculous .889 hitting pct. against the Raiders while freshman Skylar Winchester filled the stat sheet with seven digs, six kills and one save. Freshman Nevaeh Arnold capped the night with 23 assists, nine digs and four kills, and junior Ajie Jagne tallied five kills and three blocks.

As a team, the Wildcats posted a hitting pct. of .378 for the match and closed the match with a .545 clip in the third set. The Raiders finished the contest with a .027 hitting pct. and were the victim of 16 JWU service aces, sparked by six from junior and reigning GNAC Libero of the Week Sierra Nausieda, who also collected 13 digs.

Release Courtesy of the Saint Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications Department

WESTON, Mass. - #6 Saint Joseph's College (15-16,10-5) upset #3 Regis College (21-9,13-2), 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

In the first set, the Monks stayed close behind Regis for most of the way. After trailing by as many as five points, Saint Joseph's made a push and pulled within one at 9-8 on a kill by Greta Mackintosh (Plymouth, Mass.). Although Regis extended their lead momentarily, the Monks showed their resilience and closed the gap with two straight points. However, the Pride finished the set strong to take a 25-18 win.

The second set saw Saint Joseph's take control with a dominant defensive effort at the net, totaling four blocks early on and establishing an 11-5 lead. Although Regis mounted a brief comeback to tie the set at 21-21, the Monks responded with poise. Kylie Giakoumis (Middletown, N.Y.) contributed two key kills to help Saint Joseph's take four of the last six points, securing a 25-23 set win to even the match at 1-1.

The Monks carried their momentum into the third set, overcoming an early 8-4 deficit. A key 8-3 run, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Victoria Briones (El Paso, Texas), gave Saint Joseph's a 12-11 lead. After Regis briefly regained the lead, the Monks finished strong with a dominant 13-3 run, capped by three blocks and a service ace by Tamya Johnson (Boston, Mass.), taking the set 25-15.

In the fourth set, the Monks jumped out to a 7-2 lead and never looked back. With a 9-3 run, they extended their advantage to 18-8. Regis mounted a late challenge, scoring six straight points, but Saint Joseph's answered with three quick points of their own from kills by Mackintosh, Comolli, and Maggie Sylvester (Barrington, N.H.). With the score tied at 23-23, Briones came through with a clutch kill to give the Monks match point, and they closed out the contest as Regis failed to execute its offense in the final moments.

Briones led the Monks with nine kills and 12 digs, while Mackintosh also added nine kills. Sylvester finished with eight kills, four digs, and five block assists, and Comolli contributed eight kills on a .353 hitting percentage, along with two service aces and four block assists. Regan Noonan (Standish, Maine) was a defensive force with six total blocks, and Sabrina Arcilla (Rivervale, N.J.) provided steady defense with 11 digs.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's College (15-16) advances to the GNAC semifinals, where they will face second-seeded Johnson & Wales in Providence, R.I., on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.

TEAM STATS:

Johnson & Wales held the lead in kills (63-48), hitting percentage (.202 / .192), assists (47-39), and digs (73-70) while Saint Joseph's registered an advantage in service aces (12-6) and total blocks (12-4) in the triumph.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Briones notched nine kills, two aces, two assists, and 12 digs
• Tamya Johnson recorded three aces and twenty assists
• Regan Noonan posted six blocks
• Greta Mackintosh registered nine kills
• Sylvester notched 8 kills and five blocks
• Comolli added two aces and four blocks
• Riley Greenley contributed 17 assists
• Sabrina Arcilla chipped in with eleven digs
• Allison McMullen add seven digs

LEADERS –REGIS:

• Kamdyn Tenorio belted 14 kills and recorded 15 digs
• Avery Mola added nine kills, three aces, three assists, and nine digs
• Ahnasia Mckinnery contributed six kills, four aces, two blocks, 19 assists, and six digs
• Alexandra Rivera added three aces
• Lauren Tuttle contributed three blocks
• Grace Fabiano recorded one block

NOTEWORTHY:

• Tonight's victory over the Pride is the Monks' first since the 2010 campaign and third win over the Pride in the history of matches dating back to 2007.

Release Courtesy of the Simmons Athletic Communication Department 

BOSTON – The fourth seed Simmons volleyball team (15-13) advances to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinals for the fourth straight year following a 3-1 victory over fifth seed Emmanuel College (21-8) on Tuesday evening..
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1: Simmons 25, Emmanuel 20
Simmons grabbed the quick 1-0 match advantage taking the first set, 25-20. Sophomore Hannah Pridgeon led the way, hitting .300 with four kills on 10 attempts and one miscue, while graduate senior Zoë Chatterton also notched four kills in the set. Fellow sophomore Alicia Beatty paced the offense with five assists.
 
SET 2: Simmons 25, Emmanuel 19
The Sharks were cruising, taking the second set by a score of 25-19 to put them one set away from another semifinals appearance. Chatterton was the spark for the Sharks, hitting a staggering .625 with six kills on eight attempts and one error, while tallying seven digs. Graduate senior April Beatty was flawless from the floor with three kills on seven attempts to go along with her five assists.
 
SET 3: Emmanuel 25, Simmons 20
With their backs against the wall, down 0-2, the Saints avoided the three-set sweep, pulling out a barn-burner of a third set, 25-20. Senior Meghan Doxsee hit .429 with three kills on seven attempts with one block assist, while April Beatty registered six assists and sophomore Carolina Rodriguez led the back row with six digs.
 
SET 4: Simmons 25, Emmanuel 22
However, the Sharks sealed the win coming on strong late in the fourth set. Finding themselves down,17-16, the Sharks unleashed a 5-0 which included a pair of aces from Alicia Beatty to take a 21-17 lead and force the Saints to call their second time out. Simmons never look back and cruised to the 25-22 win.
 
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduate senior Zoë Chatterton registered her fifth double-double, leading the offense with 19 kills and notching 13 digs.
• Sophomore Hannah Pridgeon registered her 10^th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs against the Saints.
• Graduate senior April Beatty paced the offense with 18 assists while also being a force at the net with three block assists.

UP NEXT
Simmons advances to the GNAC semifinals where they will face the top-seed Lasell University at 6 p.m. in Newton, Massachusetts on Thursday evening.